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Set against crimson theater drapes at one of Oslo’s most prominent LGBTQ+ spaces, the Norwegian Lutheran Church issued a formal apology for harm and unequal treatment perpetrated over the years.

“Norway's church has inflicted LGBTQ+ individuals shame, great harm and pain,” the presiding bishop, Olav Fykse Tveit, stated this Thursday. “It was wrong for this to take place and which is the reason today I say sorry.”

“Unequal treatment, harassment and discrimination” resulted in certain individuals abandoning their faith, the bishop admitted. A worship service at Oslo's main cathedral was scheduled to follow his apology.

This formal apology took place at the London Pub, one of two bars targeted in the 2022 attack that killed two people and injured nine people severely during Oslo’s Pride celebrations. A Norwegian citizen originally from Iran, who had pledged allegiance to Islamic State, received a sentence to at least 30 years behind bars for the murders.

Like many religions around the world, the Church of Norway – a Lutheran evangelical community that is Norway’s largest faith community – historically excluded the LGBTQ+ community, denying them the opportunity from joining the clergy or from marrying in religious ceremonies. In the 1950s, bishops of the church described gay people as a “social danger of global proportions”.

But as Norwegian society became increasingly liberal, becoming the second in the world to permit registered partnerships for same-sex couples during 1993 and during 2009 the initial Nordic nation to allow same-sex marriage, the church slowly followed.

Back in 2007, the Church of Norway began ordaining gay pastors, and LGBTQ+ partners could marry in church starting in 2017. In 2023, Tveit joined in Oslo’s Pride parade in what was described as a historic moment for the religious institution.

Thursday’s apology elicited differing opinions. The head of a network representing Norwegian Christian lesbians, Hanne Marie, who is also a gay pastor, referred to it as “a significant step toward healing” and a moment that “finally marked the end of a difficult period in the history of the church”.

For Stephen Adom, the director of Norway’s Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity, the apology represented “powerful and significant” but had come “not in time for those who lost their lives to AIDS … carrying heavy hearts because the church considered the crisis to be God’s punishment”.

Globally, a few churches have attempted to offer apologies for historical treatment concerning the LGBTQ+ community. Last year, England's church apologised for what it described as “shameful” actions, even as it continues to refuse to authorize same-sex weddings in church.

Likewise, Ireland's Methodist Church last year issued an apology for “inadequate pastoral assistance and care” to LGBTQ+ people and family members, but held fast in its belief that marriage could only be a union between a man and a woman.

Several months ago, Canada's United Church delivered a statement of regret to Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ groups, characterizing it as a renewed commitment of the church's “dedication to welcoming all and full inclusion” throughout every area of church life.

“We did not manage to celebrate and delight in all of your beautiful creation,” Rev Michael Blair, the general secretary of the church, stated. “We have wounded people instead of seeking wholeness. We are sorry.”